Then, wake up one morning to open the lid and see the parchment-like garlic heads smiling back at you.

Addendum : After trying different cooking times, I would now say that 17 days is probably enough if you want a fig-like texture. The full 21 days gives a texture resembling gummy bears. Both are viable options, and around me, some prefer the 14 days and other the 21... A friend who tried this recipe on a larger scale needs more time for the same results. Something to consider before buying the biggest rice cooker on the market!

Step 5: Conclusion

It is very easy to remove the black cloves from their skins as their size will have reduced during the "cooking".

You can probably keep them in the fridge for a long time, freeze them or dry them. But with so much taste and so many recipes just waiting for your garlic, don't worry too much about conservation.

I've tried comparing locally grown garlic to cheap Chinese garlic available at my local grocery. The locally grown was tastier and sweeter. But it is probably only because the purple stripe garlic is better tasting than the porcelain variety in the first place.

Don't worry if you only have access to the "usual" porcelain garlic. It will still be delicious.

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16 Discussions

I never tried to rehydrate them. However, I did pulverised them I a mixer and grate old hard ones into a powder that you can mix with hamburger meat and get something quite delicious. Maybe in a red wine sauce or in a mushroom risotto?

I got a rice cooker with a 'Keep Warm' function. I checked the temp with my over thermometer and it was less than 150 degrees. I put my garlic cloves in. After 1 week, they were black, but I left them in a little longer, 5 days. When I took one out it was hard as a rock. They were all hard as a rock. I did check them once or twice during the process. But what did I do wrong? Everyone raves about the success they've had with rice cookers. This one does not seem to be getting too hot. Suggestions?

While I don't know for sure, the most likely reason is that your cooker is too advanced. It must have some kind of fan that criticaly reduces the amount of humidity in the cooker. You actually dehydrated the garlic while "cooking" it. Don't trash it. Grind it and and add the powdered garlic to your hamburger meat it should be fabulous. Keep me posted non the results!

Hi, and thanks soooo much for this article, I know the first person to respond asked the same question I'm going to ask, but no one really gave an answer then (4 months ago) so I will ask again, can you peel the garlic bulb and just put in the cloves to turn black, or do they HAVE to be blubs? A definitive answer from anyone would be greatly appreciated.

I actually only tried this way. I only know people who tried this way. And traditionally, it is done this way. You'll have to try... but by experience, the skin protects the garlic against dehydration. I think you would end up with a very dry product. But maybe this could be a good thing?

Thank you. I was testing out my crock pot yesterday afternoon with a thermometer on low. Sadly it jumped to 180° fairly quickly. In the past I made an extension cord with a dimmer switch in it and was able to use that to lower the temperature to the into the target range of 140 to 165. It made the house hot and I wasn't able to test it long term.

I expect that anyone who uses your tutorial could do the same thing with a dimmer switch and get additional control of the temperature. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.

There is no reason for the dimmer option not to work. However, making black garlic in your house will quickly give you the impression that you are living in a garlic clove, which may have an impact of your social life.

Actually, the very cheap ones will all enter the keep warm mode by default when plugged. The only control is a "push once" to start the cooking cycle. Look at the rice cooker : as long as you have two lights and one big button in the front, it should work!